With winter break quickly approaching, first grade students are nearly finished reviewing D’Nealian letter formation. Throughout the school year, students have been practicing one or two letters each week. . Uppercase and lowercase letters are first practiced through sky writing to reinforce the correct path of movement. This includes starting and stopping letters at the appropriate place according to D’Nealian letter formation. Consistency in following a prescribed path of movement helps to minimize reversals and increase speed of writing. D’Nealian is used at The Summit beginning in Early Learners to best prepare students for cursive writing, which will be introduced near the end of second grade. When first graders are writing, we look for a W.O.W. “Watch Our Writing” position in which students are seated at a table, are sitting up straight and tall, have their feet on the ground, tilt their paper, and use their non-dominant hand to stabilize. After establishing their W.O.W. position, students trace and write independently on primary lined paper. During handwriting, students are strongly encouraged to use an appropriate pencil grip. Handwriting practice will continue after winter break as we shift our focus from individual letter review to words and sentences.
Our Habitats
Trimester 3 has just begun and first graders are beginning a unit on animals, classifications and habitats. Before we can dive deep into the six